REDWOOD CITY — Over the strong objections of the chief deputy coroner, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday supporting earlier policy changes by the Coroner’s Office that require next-of-kin be notified when organs are kept after an autopsy.

Coroner Robert Foucrault made the changes in February after two mothers confronted the board when they found out portions of their deceased sons’ bodies had been retained by the Coroner’s Office without the families’ knowledge.

Foucrault has said his office kept parts of the bodies to help determine the cause of death.

The new policies require that the coroner make an effort to notify families about organ retention and offer to return the organs to the family after they are no longer needed.

The policy also says the coroner must seek consent from the family if an organ is kept for a reason other than to determine cause of death.

But Chief Deputy Coroner Tom Marriscolo said the new policies could traumatize grieving families who don’t want to know that the coroner has retained body parts. Previously, the policy had been not to tell families when parts were kept.

“They’re making a decision now that we have to give out information that maybe people don’t want,” Marriscolo said. “Sometimes it’s better not to tell somebody something.”

Supervisor Adrienne Tissier, who authored the resolution, commended Foucrault for implementing the new policies.

“We tried to make it consumer-oriented,” Tissier said. “From my perspective, I felt the law really didn’t address consumer needs.”